Too poor to retire; too young to die

[bld999]

FL Wright apparently got his young staff to work for him for free; looks like he's still fleecing people from the grave nearly 60 years later.

 

[haha]

I have been to restaurants where a side dish of mashed potatoes or steamed broccoli is $10. So, the $21.36 meal for a prime rib is not bad, even for this woman. But in addition to the $100 to see a Frank Lloyd tour, I wonder what other things that she spent money on that she should not.

As I said earlier, I have read blogs of destitute people who spend $5 on a fancy-schmancy toothpaste tube, or buy grocery at Whole Foods. How do we help these people?

Vote for Bernie.

 

[NW-Bound]

We splurge and go to the restaurant:

Brilliant

I beg your pardon. Not brilliant.

The signs in front say "Giant Char-broil Burgers" and "Char-broil Steaks".

I would expect "Grilled Armadillo with Dandelion Salad", "Possum Sauteed with Wild Chicory Leaves", or "Nutria Marinated with Moonshine".

No, not at all, but the dramatic headline alone is asking us to see them as sad sacks. The author could have presented their stories differently, maybe as three examples of hardworking industrious people who are tackling hard times on their own terms and getting by. There is nothing dishonorable in any of the jobs they are doing.

My choice: "... three examples of industrious people who are living the life they want, even if it takes hard work to do so".

And yes, it is true that they appear to be excellent workers, and give their employers a lot for the pay.

 

[unclemick]

Vote for Bernie.

Yep, yep yep as an old combat vet of the '47 States and the Soviet of Washington (INTJ history joke)' I still have fond memories of my parents (1934 high school grads) drills/lessons on frugal should the shoe drop and "The Great Depression' return.

I remember my legend in my own mind early ER efforts at 'Cheap SOB-ness".



heh heh heh - alas time in ER and the compounding of Mr Market has made a 35 year overnight success. in my non humble view.

 

[highlow65]

I almost always spend much more than 21$, but I don't go out that often and when I do I normally order something that takes much preparation. Easy to make dishes I prepare at home much cheaper. But I am not $50,000 in debt or I would be eating Ramen Noodles!

 

[Souschef]

i am enjoying everyone's comments, and I agree these people have made bad choices.
i used to get a lot of crap at work because of all the traveling I did. I finally told a coworker,look, if we make the same money, and you want a fancy car and a big house, go for it. I have about $1000 a month less in payments. That gives me 12K a year to travel. You made your choice, i made mine

 

[Fred123]

I guess I had a much different take on these stories. I kinda respected these folks for not feeling sorry for themselves, making do with what was available to them, exerting some control over their lives and most of all being willing to keep working.
I think I see people like this all the time working minimal wage jobs in grocery stores, etc. and providing service to customers. The only twist on the folks in the story was the nomadic lifestyle. I might not agree with their choices, but they're not asking me to be responsible for them either.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

No, I'm with you here. Lots of good stuff in some of the discussions but I find the judgement on some of these threads to be a bit much sometimes.


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[papadad111]

We will see more and more of this over time. Not so surprising... 1 candy now or 2 candies later.

 

[brucethebroker]

Poor choices

Numerous poor choices here: gas to travel in RV. Tow along just another vehicle to insure and repair. Free food at shelters is "not healthy enough". Prime rib dinner. $50k in CC debt but still pays to see a Wright tour.

Renting an efficiency apt, or moving in with a roommate or relative would really help. Living where public transportation is available and selling 2 vehicles would really help. Cooking at home would really help.

Guess I'm missing the compassion gene on this one......

 

[NW-Bound]

I almost always spend much more than 21$, but I don't go out that often and when I do I normally order something that takes much preparation. Easy to make dishes I prepare at home much cheaper. But I am not $50,000 in debt or I would be eating Ramen Noodles!

We often make dishes at home that take a lot of preparation. Cooking is a hobby for us, the same as some people spending a lot of time working on their classic cars, making furniture, etc... When it's a pastime, who is looking at the clock?

 

[tmm99]

We will see more and more of this over time. Not so surprising... 1 candy now or 2 candies later.

I think they have a different mentality all together. Are they just foolishly optimistic or it is some kind of pleasure principal at play here?

What I've noticed about some of my friends who are just getting by - if they have extra cash, they don't think about saving it first
. They think about what extra fun they could have with it like getting a watch they had been wanting for a while - an Apple Watch. Or they get laid off and take the long vacation they always wanted to take but couldn't because they were working and had no time to. Money? Oh they got severance and would be getting unemployment, plus they could dip into savings if they had to. (That's what they (my friends) would say.) They always seem to come out of the other end fine somehow, which kind of amazes me every time.


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[NW-Bound]

She can’t buy in bulk because Big Foot has little storage space. Often, she’s forced to purchase smaller-sized products — at convenience store prices — that fit a smallish RV refrigerator.

Something I noticed but forgot to comment on.

The woman has a class C motorhome, and the refrigerator commonly put into these models is a 6-cf unit, which is what we have in our class C. See photo below. It is indeed small compared to a residential fridge, but we have no problem storing food during our RV trek. And that's for 2 people.

It is true that we cannot keep a big jar of mayo like we have at home, and the ketchup bottle has to be small. But we never have to get them at convenience stores. Normal grocery stores carry them.

What are they talking about?

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

As Marvin Zindler used to say on Houston TV, "It's Hell to be poor!" [...in America--my addition.]

It distresses me extremely that so many people in our fabulous culture do not know how to take care of themselves, how to prepare for an uncertain future. (I live in fear that my own children may not have grasped this, but I hope I am wrong.)

I have great sympathy for women in this situation. I do not have the same sympathy for men. (T.S., guys.) We males are responsible for ourselves, and for our families, should we choose to have them, regardless of what happens later. Period.

I read somewhere (from a woman author) that a man is not a retirement plan. It appears that our daughter may have come to realize this (we hope).

My opinion. Sue me.

 

[Bigdawg]

But there are plenty of opportunities to spend more... Like the high end fish taco place a block from Barbarella's... Everything is ala carte and it's hard to get out of there for cheap.

Rubio's is plenty high end for me if we are talking fish taco's.

 

[marko]

The people in the story aren't asking for sympathy but it seems the author is trying to evoke some.

I always wonder about the author's agenda on these stories. My first reaction is always that someone wants me to cough up more money either through taxes, contributions or other means by trying to make me feel guilty.

I'm sort of fatigued out on that score.

 

[Big_Hitter]

unfortunately (my opinion is that) stories like these are just the tip of the iceberg - we will see the number of poor elderly accelerate as that generation ages

 

[Big_Hitter]

As Marvin Zindler used to say on Houston TV, "It's Hell to be poor!" [...in America--my addition.]

I miss Marvin - grew up listening to him fight the good fight. I bet Houston misses him too.

 

[timo2]

unfortunately (my opinion is that) stories like these are just the tip of the iceberg - we will see the number of poor elderly accelerate as that generation ages

+1 especially as people live longer and longer

 

[LARS]

Well, I think after 8 pages of debating the extravagance of a $21 meal from the perspective of a gaggle of ERs, I, for one, am glad there are people who spend, and spend often, because without them spending (and often above their means) the economy would grind to a halt and the stock market, where many on this board invest their $21 instead of eating it, would be in the toilet.

EDIT: And for those that are interested in spending more than $21 per meal may I suggest the following list compiled by the French of the world's top 1,000 restaurants to work your way through, and, oh yeah, I'll be the guy at the corner table enjoying myself. Nod if you see me...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/dining/la-liste-france-worlds-50-best-restaurants.html?_r=1


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[kgtest]

one way to save money easily is to cook your own meals with your own groceries. One way to spend a lot of money is to never cook your own meals. I have friends who eat out 2-3x a day. They don't drive fancy cars, they don't own their own homes and in fact they have very hard and difficult lives because they cannot afford to eat out. I've tried to explain the cost savings one can experience by not eating out but they don't get it. I just watched 5 of them blow a combined $400 on one meal, and quite a few drinks. It's like they were on a quest to consume as much as possible as fast as possible and spend as much money as possible in the process. The karaoke and burger were less than entertaining to me. something tells me they may end up as nomads...well one already is at 37.

 

[FIREd_2015]

I believe there is a place in Southern California called Slab City that has a lot of these types of people. There's been several news articles over the years about the plight of those living at Slab City. This latest article is another reminder of the importance of planning for retirement.

 

[Hamlet]

The people in the story aren't asking for sympathy but it seems the author is trying to evoke some.

I always wonder about the author's agenda on these stories. My first reaction is always that someone wants me to cough up more money either through taxes, contributions or other means by trying to make me feel guilty.

I'm sort of fatigued out on that score.

I think the author's agenda is usually "How much per column-inch do I get paid again?"

 

[Music Lover]

I think they have a different mentality all together. Are they just foolishly optimistic or it is some kind of pleasure principal at play here?

What I've noticed about some of my friends who are just getting by - if they have extra cash, they don't think about saving it first
. They think about what extra fun they could have with it like getting a watch they had been wanting for a while - an Apple Watch. Or they get laid off and take the long vacation they always wanted to take but couldn't because they were working and had no time to. Money? Oh they got severance and would be getting unemployment, plus they could dip into savings if they had to. (That's what they (my friends) would say.) They always seem to come out of the other end fine somehow, which kind of amazes me every time.

It is a different mentality.

My friend recently sold his house...he built too big of a house and ended up house poor barely making ends meet with his modest income. This went on for almost 10 years, living cheque to cheque and never being able to take a vacation, etc. Yet, he still went out for lunch 3x a week dropping $20 each time, and was always buying things he really didn't need.

Then, out of the blue a real estate agent knocked on his door saying she had a buyer for his house if he was looking to sell. He ended up selling for a very nice profit, paid off all his debt, and was left with about $150,000 in the bank. Rather than invest the money, so far he has spent about $10k on golf clubs, a new TV, new furniture, etc., and will soon be dropping $50k on a new vehicle to replace a perfectly good Toyota Rav with just 100,000 kms (62,000 miles) on it.

He moved to an apartment, but rather than get a decent unit for $900 - $1000, he's renting a 3 bedroom (he's single) unit for $1500 a month. He learned absolutely nothing from being broke for 10 years, and I expect that the $150,000 will all be gone in 2 years.

 

[LARS]

He learned absolutely nothing from being broke for 10 years, and I expect that the $150,000 will all be gone in 2 years.

Well to play devils advocate you could say your friend learned his approach worked. He had a $150,000 windfall; and, so figures it will somehow work out just fine again.


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[Danmar]

But if someone finds enjoyment in it and can afford it why not?

We only live once and can't take it with us.

Agree. We spend a lot on eating out. More entertainment than anything else. Quality of food is importance but ambiance is as well since it helps us relax (along with the wine) and enjoy each others' company more during the meal. If I remember right, eating out represents about 4% of our budget. We often pay the whole tab when relatives are with us, as most of them couldn't afford it.